Restless over the absence of live sports?  Want to create your own FB Game on the TV?  Well, let's turn to this classic.

The 1987 VCR College Bowl Game!

A quick search on Ebay or Amazon, and you can have a copy of your own for ~$20-$25.
Also, don't have a VCR?  No sweat, many VCR's from VCR games are up on youtube: Check out the tape @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAlKOXFgGt8

A QUICK REVIEW

Each quarter is 30 plays long, and you don't actually pick the play.  The card tells you what happened on the play, OR it says "Video Action" and your play is exactly what the next clip on the tape shows.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE

If you're an intensive strategist, this is likely not your cup of tea.  There's no adjusting the defense from Zone to Man, or QB sneak on 4th and inches.  The plays are set in stone in a shuffled deck, and you really have no say in the type of play.
You do get to decide to kick a FG or punt.

You'll also need basic understanding of the rules.  Ie: what to do on 4th down, replay the down if the play card says 'Video Action with Offensive Penalty' (and the player on defense doesn't decline).  However, if you clicked on this link, your FB gameplay knowledge is more than sufficient.

If you understand the ins and outs of formulating a game plan, well too bad. Your card may say "Video Action" or "3 Yard Gain"  or "Video Action with 15 Yard Defensive Penalty" or "Fumble" and that's it, no thought required.  The ardent game planner may want to stay away (Although I hear Jim Bollman plays this every Thursday).

SPECIAL TEAMS

This is where the game takes many creative liberties.

Kickoffs -- Roll the dice (this is the only part of game requiring dice).
A roll b/w 2 and 11, and multiply that by 5 for return yardage (ie, roll a 5, and 5*5 = 25, hence you get ball on 25).
Roll Snake Eyes (2) and you fumble and other team has ball on 20.
Roll Box Cars (12) and you have a Kickoff Return for a TOUCHDOWN!!!!

So 1 out of every 36 kickoffs results in either a TD or Fumble.

Need an onside kick?  Too bad, better hope your opponent rolls a two... that's VCR football for you.

MAKING FIELD GOAL HISTORY

Field Goals -- There are 21 Field Goal Cards (14 Bad, 7 Good)
--If you have the ball betwixt the goal line and the 29, (ie, an 18 to 46 yard FG), you draw three cards and hope 1 is good: This equates to a 72.6% Success Rate.
--Have the ball between the 30 and 39?  Draw two cards and hope 1 is good.  This means for a 47 to 56 yard field goal your success rate is 56%.
--Have the ball between the 40 and 50?  Draw 1 card.
This is a 57 to 67 yard field goal.  Yet, the success rate is 7/21, or 33%.

Ok, the longest FG EVER in CFB history is a 67 yarder, last made in 1988.  In this game, kickers make it on a 33% clip.

To be fair, an NAIA kicker and a HS Kicker ONCE made 68 yards.  So you don't actually get to break the entire sport record 33% of the time.  The NFL record is 64 yards, so they should take notes here.

There's no fumble on a FG attempt or a block returned for a TD... even if you're pinned at the 50, there's a 1/3 chance you make FG history.

POINT AFTER & 2 POINT CONVERSIONS

Ok, this is crazy.  There's 10 cards, you pick the top on a shuffled deck.
--6 cards -- It's good
--3 cards -- Missed PAT
--1 card -- 2 Pt Conversion

This means a few things.
--The expected value of the PAT or 2PtConv is 0.8 points.
--You don't get to choose to go for two (you just get it 1 out of 10 at random).  So, down 12 to 14 with time winding down... too bad, you just made the PAT
--Considering your kicker can boot a 67 yard FG 33% of the time, why are they only 67% accurate on a PAT?  We'll just chalk that up to bad coaching.

PUNTING

There's a wheel you spin with 8 segments.
--1 Segment: 20 Yards (12.5% of time)
--2 Segments: 30 Yards (25% of the time)
--4 Segments: 40 Yards (50% of the time)
--1 Segment:  50 Yards  (12.5% of the time)

That's it... no returns, no blocks (remember, 1987 was before Ted Ginn Jr. or the Chris Olave/Sevyn Banks tandem).  

The TAPE and gameplay

For those of you that don't have a VCR, you can still order the game.  Youtube has the easy to find link (also above).
The game was forged in 1987, so I'm guessing the tape was made in 1986.  If one diagrammed a few plays and looked up old stats the exact year(s) could be ascertained.  But I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.
If you start watching the tape, in the Intro you'll immediately notice a clip of CFB's Grandfather (at the time), Joe Paterno jogging on the sideline.  In 1986, he was only 59... hard to believe, he was still in his prime.  (I only remember the clueless octogenarian who masqueraded as a head coach).

There's a bunch of Nebraska, Auburn, Alabama, Texas A&M, & Miami... with a bit of Notre Dame & Michigan State, sprinkled in with some Penn State (vs. Minnesota? couldn't tell).
Sadly, my family played thru the 57 minute mark of the tape... not a lick of OSU or Michigan.

There's enough 'Video Action' cards for ~28 minutes of tape play, which means the ~2 hour tape has enough plays for about 4 complete games.  So, if you have a VCR, no need to rewind after game 1.  If not, remember where the last game ended (or just start the tape anywhere).

Most plays are short yardage, and there's more turnovers than one expects.

The scores are lower than what one is now accustom.  Remember in 1986, 31-24 was a shootout... now it's more the norm.

Ties?  Remember, this was before College OT.  The official rules state: "In the case of a tie, a rematch is in order"
Luckily, our first game ended in a tie and we instituted the modern OT rules (I threw an Int on the first and goal from the 2, like I said, you don't pick the plays).

Finally, whatever station and crew broadcasted the game, the sound was removed.  All plays have a similar crown noise dubbed in and the same generic 'broadcaster' telling you the playflow and the result.  No names or coaches or team names are called out. 

BONUS TRIVIA

Our game was sealed and had the original warranty card you could mail in for your 90 Day Limited Warranty.

The address was: 3658 Buena Vista Rd, Columbus, GA 31906
This appears to be a dead address.
--3656 Buena Vista Rd is a grocery store called: Oriental Food and Gifts
--Next door at 3702 Buena Vista is the Gateway Church
--But the 3658 address is lost to history... At least it's in a Columbus, even if an out of state Columbus
It also has a 404 number for customer service.  I doubt it works, and I'm not giving it out online.

The game was made by "The College Football Association" or CFA.  According to Wikipedia, this group was formed in 1977 by 63 top schools and folded in 1997.  It's goal was to "negotiate contracts with TV networks to televise football games."  So that explains the video rights.

RECOMMENDATION

It's cool to play with buddies once or twice... The lack of strategy gets tiresome.
Perhaps, order and play for the novelty... or if you're in college, it's a great drinking game (It's not in the rules, but where there's a will there's a way).

Ultimately, it's fun a few times, and it's great if you have young ones and want to teach them game flow.

The best part about the game however, is the old 1980's era play clips... and you can get that for free thanks to YouTube Channel "VCR Board Games."